Richland powers to opening win over Edgeley-Kulm

EDGELEY, N.D. – Not big himself, Kayne Griffith was all about making Edgeley-Kulm look small Tuesday night.

The 5-foot-7, 155-pound junior tailback from Richland tore through the Rebels’ defense to the tune of 314 yards and five touchdowns on just 14 touches, and the Colts scored on every possession but their last in a 60-6 win on the opening night of North Dakota 9-man football.

“Football season’s my favorite season,” said Griffith, who finished with 12 carries for 266 yards and three TDs on the ground. “For us to come out here and hit somebody with a different jersey was really nice, really exciting.”

Griffith scored on runs of 60, 21 and 30. He was the recipient of TD passes of 5 and 44 from junior quarterback Matt Workin.

“He’s an amazing all-around athlete,” Richland coach Kal Triplett said of Griffith, “but he’s also really strong for his size. He’s not real tall, but he’s aggressive. He slashes through guys. He runs north and south, not east and west.”

Griffith put his ability on display early, shedding four tacklers before running up the right sideline for a 60-yard score on Richland’s first play of the game.

“That guy runs with a passion,” Edgeley-Kulm coach Jon Schiele said. “He doesn’t stop. He comes and comes. It takes more than one to get him down. He’s a good runner.”

That opened up the middle for senior fullback Damon Hage, who rumbled for a 46-yard TD on Richland’s next possession. The Colts followed with three scores in the second quarter and led 38-6 by halftime. The only possession Richland was held out of the end zone was its final one, when it kneeled on the ball to end the game.

Of course, Griffith directed credit elsewhere.

“My line did a great job tonight of giving me holes to break through and really giving me the vision I needed to get into the open field and try and make people miss,” Griffith said.

Triplett’s offense piled 529 yards of total offense, and 480 of it came on the ground. Hage ended with three carries for 91 yards and a pair of TDs. The Colts host Strasburg-Zeeland on Saturday.

Edgeley-Kulm’s only score came on a 7-yard quarterback draw from senior Logan Hanson late in the first half. The Rebels managed 212 yards of total offense, led by leading rusher Mason Madcke’s 75 yards on 17 carries. They did have some success through the air, though, as Hanson finished 10 of 18 for 74 yards. The Rebels play host to Hankinson on Saturday.

“We put a lot of youth out there,” Schiele said. “A lot of these guys are on the field for the first time. Hopefully, things will start to gel.”